The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

He's Not on Our Side - Mark A. Hewitt

by Mark A. Hewitt

--when you are an agent and cannot
execute the laws of the land, there is an administrative abolition of immigration laws

In
my first year with the U.S. Border Patrol, I learned the meaning of
"escalation" and contempt for law enforcement. In the good old days of
patrolling the border, when coming upon an obvious illegal border
crosser, Border Patrol agents could simple say to a fully compliant
border crosser and his friends, "Get in the back of the truck." The men
always apologized for the trouble and dutifully complied with the
agent's directive. The men were driven to the port of entry and were
admonished not to try that again, or there would be consequences.

Today's
Border Patrol agents are confronted with absolute contempt and
astonishing firepower. One of my graduate students, a Border Patrol
agent, relayed how the windshield of his patrol vehicle had been blown
out by automatic weapons that had been fired from the other side of the
border.

In
the early 1990s, federal law enforcement officials had noticed the
shift in violence along the border and in the cities. What had
changed? We elected a new president in 1992.

Border
Patrol agents in 1993 experienced something similar to today's Customs
and Border Protection agents, who have been told by their superiors they will be terminated
if they try to enforce the law. The head of the Immigration &
Naturalization Service continually diverted congressionally approved
"operations and maintenance" funds into other programs. Border Patrol
agents along the southwest border didn't receive the necessary O&M
funds to buy spare parts for their vehicles, or new vehicles, or fuel. I
recall one of the chief patrol agents lamenting that when the average
mileage on a Border Patrol vehicle approached 300,000 miles, they were
effectively out of business.

The
effect of diverting funds was devastating and obvious. Stories
surfaced of some agents, who would not be deterred, siphoning the gas
out of the fuel tanks of drug smugglers' vehicles or purchasing fuel
with their own money so they could perform the job they were trained for
and hired to do.

Under
the new speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, President Clinton was
forced to sign several new immigration bills, one of which was to double
the size of the Border Patrol. I recall hearing the news at a
supervisor's meeting: "we're going to receive a thousand new agents a
year for the next five years." Border Patrol infrastructure was
recapitalized, as new sector headquarters and station buildings needed
to be built for the additional manpower and new patrol vehicles that
arrived daily.

I
had suggested that illegal alien apprehensions and drug seizures
effectiveness would increase with the acquisition of "quiet aircraft."
After a flight demonstration, our congressman earmarked $15M for a few
surveillance aircraft systems. Unfortunately, the I&NS commissioner
diverted the earmarked funds for our aircraft while the decision to
terminate the new aircraft program came from, reportedly, the first
lady, Hillary Clinton. Somehow she became personally involved and did
not approve the Border Patrol's use of surveillance aircraft, as I
recall, "on American citizens."

I
wasn't the only one who was apoplectic. Senior Border Patrol agents
were well versed in the maddening cycle of senior Democrats withholding
critical U.S. Border Patrol O&M funds or diverting assets away from
the border as a way to execute their agenda of an open border. I was
assured that when it was the Republicans' turn to be the ultimate
decision-maker, all of the Democrats' policies would be reversed. That
was when I learned the Border Patrol is probably the most politicized
federal agency in America. They are whipsawed back and forth, depending
on which way the political wind blows from Washington, D.C. Whoever
controls the White House, the Democrats taketh, and the Republicans
restoreth.

Twenty
years later, now under the Department of Homeland Security, Border
Patrol agents are told to stay in their buildings. The effect is the
same as it was under President Clinton: when you are an agent and cannot
execute the laws of the land, there is an administrative abolition of immigration laws.
Not leaving a Border Patrol Station means no apprehensions, no drug
seizures, no interdictions, no deporting of illegals. There is no law.

The
removal of critical resources at key pressure points, by whatever
means, to achieve one's political goal is the hallmark of a liberal
Democrat in a leadership position. For President Clinton, through his
surrogate at I&NS, it was removing funding for Border Patrol agents
and equipment along the border. President Obama too has removed funding
and personnel at critical times and at crucial pressure points.

There
is only one way to look at the collective and systematic removal of
Border Patrol agents from their field of operations, and that is to give
criminal aliens tactical and strategic advantages. In wartime, these
policies could be construed as "aiding and abetting an enemy," to assist
in the commission of a crime. No radical or domestic terrorist group
has ever had such a back-door supporter and facilitator to target police
as the President of the United States.

His contempt for law enforcement knows no bounds. He is not on our side. This is the real Obama legacy.